to judge awe lee tow. he says heudges cases differently because of his own family hisry. think we would be blinded if our ownxperiences and backgrounds don't cause judgment. when you see her judicial record, she has strictly abided by the law and not one tehe hasn't. someone ntionedthe fact e was pro abortion but she also upheld t law when the u.s. congress did not want to fund fedeaid to mexico to fun abortions abroad. she said s the right to do >>ormer judge --eff sessions, he didn't make federal judge, obviously, defeed by some of thmembers on this coite, obviousl was he right in saying sheas ruled that the federal governme has a constitutional responbility to give fedal aid in cases abortion decisions? >> what he was sayin was at

this was mexico gag rule and basicay, u.s. government basically outlawedhe possibility of folks using federamoy to do abortions abroad and a lot of organizations, including plned parenthood wen up toupreme court sayi that is wrong, that sically it should be a woman's right tohoose and the federal funding goes tothis aboard that should be allowed and so sotomayor acally ruled against the pro abortion groups and said, no, th is against the w. >>ut we have in this country a think called t hide amendme whh prohibits the bans of use federal funds for aborti. which holds up he? which rules? >> rdon? >> doeshe hy amendment pro to be unconstitutional? no she was upholding the de endment. >> the.s. supreme court addressed this issue in harris versus mcrae andsaid the hyde

endment is constitutional, it'sbinding and uthoritative and never been questioned. >> what about the overas gag rule then? >> that is noteceipt -- relating to money ent ithe unit states to either bar o give abortions. it just relates t how money is spent abroad to encourage or not encourage abortion as method of family pant and ha no right do with a womanthe it states either to reive or not receive monies of ste governmentsr the federal government to obtain an abortion >> let's try t clarify this again. s ruled that the government should not be alwed to discrimina against organizatis provid abortio services overseas on the grnds -- >> she rul the opposite. >> she didhe opposite, chris. >> okay. then wha is senor sessions talking about hen, bruce? what does he me by his interpretation of wh she said in the past? >> think what he was saying was that one ofhe organizations to which she belonged ued the courts to hold that the hyde amendment was

unconstitutional, to speak. the cour have not done that. she, as ajudge, did no address thatssue and she, of course, would be bound by the suprem court precedent but she was articulating what an organization had made n advocate in presentation to a court. >> is it faito ask her about her membership in th organizationnd views exprsed then toy? >>hink it is,ut you have to remember lawye are advocates for their clients and the clients are the es who tell tm what kinds of positions to ake. there was nothin certainlyhat was outside the realm of applausibility making that argument. the u.s. supreme cou rejected it in harrisers mcr. >> there is an organization they keep bringing up isthe puert rican legal defense fund that is silly an naacp. i think that they have to bacally se to the top and real be clear ofhat they are talking about. ne other point. chris, tt is this issue of personal experience have an effect on the justice i remember therewas one case no long a concerning css

burning in virginia. jue clarence thomas for first time in lo time because he doesn't ha many questionsnklely asked e advocate trying toefend the first amendmentght for person to burn crosses as t what it meant. it was obvious his background gave him a special understanding of what cross burning met to acks in term of terrorizing and creating fear that a white person wouldn'have and to suggest that bacround didn't ma a difference in the css burning think woulde quite silly. >> but he made a case that it was not protected speechor that reason, right? >> that is correct his view prevailed, in pt. that is correct, chris. >> let's listeno russ feiold of wisconsin. >> for merely making a mistake an it protected the prac of telephe conversations from unjustified government eaveroing and even decided a presidential election. it made these decisis by interpreting an applying

open-ended language inur constitution. phrases like equal protection of the laws, d process of law, freedom of the press, unreasonable searchesnd seizures and the rightbear arms. senator fnstein just suggested theseecisions were not simpl the result of an uire. calling balls and strikes. easy cases where the law is clear most never make itto supreme court. the great constitutnal iues that the supreme cou is called upon to decideequire much mre than the mechanical applicion of univeally accepted legal principles. that's why justis needgreat legal expertise. they also need wisdom and they need judgment andthey need to understand the impac of their decisions on the parties before em andheountry around tm from new york city to small towns spooner, wisconsin. and they need a deep appreciationf anddedicaon to equality, to liberty, and democracy. that iwh iuggest to

everyone watching today that they be a lite weary of a phse that ey're hearing a this hearing judicial activism. that term really seems to have lost all usefulns particularl since so many rulings of the consvave ruling of the supreme court can fair be described as activists in their disregard forrecedent a intent to override ngress. maybe we should accept the best desks of judicial tivist is a way -- ea of thedecisions mingsed eaier was undoubtedly criticized by someone athe time it was sued and maybe even todayas being judicial activism yet some of them as t judge wellknows, are among the most revered sreme court decisions inodern times. mr. chairman, every senator is entitled t ask wtever qutions he or she wants these hris and to look whatever factors he or she finds

signifant in evaluating thi nominee. i hope judge sotor will swer all questions fully as possible. i'll have questis of my own on a range of issues. certainl with the two most rece supreme court nonations, senatorsid ask tough questions and sought as much information from e nomine as could posbly get and i expect nhing less from my colleagues inthese hearings. i'm glad, however, that judge sotomayor will finally have an oppounity answer some of the unsubstantiated charges that ha bn made against her. one attack i find particularly shocking is the suggestion she will be biased against some litigants becausof her racial and enic heritage. this charge is not based on anything in he judial record becausthere is absolutely nothing in the hundreds of opinions she has writt to support it. that lon record which is obviously themost relevant evidence we have to evaluat her demonstrates a cautious and careful approach to judge. stead few lines from a 2001 speech tak out of context prompted some to chargee is a

racist. i believ that no one who reads the who berkeley speech cod honestly come that conclusion. the speech is actually a remarkable thoughtful attempt to grapple with iues not ofte discussed by judges. how does background expere affecterjudging? and judge sotomayor conclud her spee by saying the folling. i'm reminde each day that i people concretelnd tat i owe them constant and complete vigilance in cheing my presumpions and my capabilities and cabiliti permit me that i -evaluate them and change in circumstances as cases bore me require. these are t words afte thghtful and hble and striving to do her best to administer impartial justice from all americs from new york ci to spooner, wisconsin. it seems to me tha is a quality we want in our judges. judg sotoyor is living pof that thi country is moving in the right rection on the issue

of race, tt doors of opportunity are finally arting to be ed to all o our citize, and i think that the judge's nomination will inspe couness children to study harder anddream higher and that is sothing we should all cebrate. let me again lcome nd congratute you. i look forward t further learning in theseearings that e has the knowledge, the wisdom, the judgment, t courage to serve with distction on our nati's highest court. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you vry much. i will rognizesenator kyl. tor kyl? >> tnkou, mr. chairman. i would hope that every american is proud that a hispanic woma has been nomined to sit on the supreme court. in fulfilling our advice and consent le, of course, weust evaluate the judge's fitness to serve on the mernot on the basis ofer ethnicity. with a bacround that creates a case for confirmation, the ary question i believe jud

sotomayor must address in this hearing isher understanding of the role of an appellate jge. from what she has said, e apars to believe that her role is notconstrained to objectively decide who wins based on the weightf the law, but rath who in her psonal opinion shou win. the factors that will influence he decisions apparently include her gender and latina heritage, d foreign legal conct that, as she said, get her creative juices going. at is the traditional bas for judging in arica? for 220 year presidents and the nate have focuse on appointi and confirmg judges and justices who are committe to putti asi their biases and prejudice and applying law faiy andimpartiall resolved disputes tween parties. this principle is universally recognized and sharedby judges across the ideologal spectrum. for instce, judge riard pyruz which i disagree wth oa

number of issuesxplained this in the same venue where less than 24 hour earlier judge sotomayor made h remar by a wise latina woman making better decisions th other woman. the judge pyip yus described the instructions he gave to jurors about toescribe a case. as jurors recognize you might have biases and prejudice d recognize that it existsnd dermine whether you ca control itso thatou can judge the case airly. because if you cannot, ifou cannot set aside those prudices, bses and passio, then you sd not sit on the se. and then judge pyus said the same principle applies judges. we ten oath of office. at t federal level a have interesting note says you omise and swear to do juice to bh the poor and the rich. thfit timei heard this oath i was startled by its significance, he said. i have my oh hanging on the wall in e office to remind me of my obligations and so

although i'm a latino judge and there is no question about th, i'm viewed as latino judge, as i judge cases, i try to judge em fairly. i try to remain faithful my oath. what judge pyus sa has been e standard f 220 rs. it correctl describes the fundamental and properole for a judge. unfortunately, a very important person has decided 's time for a chan. time for a new kind judge. one who will app a different standard of jging, including employment of his o her emphy for one ofhe parties to the spute. that person is president oma. the question before us is whetherhis first nominee to the preme court follows his new model of judging o the traditionamodelrticulated by judgpyus. president oba in oppong the nomination of chief jtice roberts said tt and i quote, while adherce to legal precedent and rules of stat re constitutional destruction will

spose of 95% of case that come before supreme t. what matters on supreme court is those 5% o cases that are truly difficult andhose 5% of hard cases the constitutnal text will note o point. a language of thstatute will not be perfectly clear. legal press alone will not lead you to a rule of decision how do president obama propose jues deal with these hard cases? does he want them to use judicialprecedence, cannons of destruction and her rules of interpretation that judges have used for nties? in no? president obam says in tse difficult cases the critical gredient is supplied by at is in the judgs heart. >>re going to take a break now from the first days of hearings. we're going to be hearing, of course, from the nominee this afternoon. that is the drama of t day. the newsmaking ent of the will probay be her opening statement which is going to be a considerable dramatic event today. at is jonkyl staking out the

very important republican position which is the fireworks of the week. we will be back with the first day of arings on the conftion for the supreme court of nominee sonia sotomayor. free credit re dot ! telloufriends, tell your dad, tell your mom! never mind, they've e been singing our songs since weweirst swed up with our pirateats on! if you're not into fake sword fights pointy slilippers an green wool tigigs take a tip from m a knht who knows free credit report dot com,,l! vo: offer apapplieth enrollment in trtriple advtage. hi, y y i he you? yeah, , i'lookg for car insurae atsn't going toreakhe bank. you're in the right plac only progressive giv you the oponon to name your p p. here. a price e g? mm-hmm. so, i tellou what i want totoay. and we build aolicy to f y your budget. thatatool.

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we'rback with the supreme cot nomination heangs of sonia sosotomayo andrea, if this were a movie and we're w watchin thee beginningsf the movie whatat do you hear in the e ght t come some. >>ou see certain t themes. clearly affifirmativ action and what se republicans on the commtee are going t to s s is reverse discrination. the ritchie cas highlilighted that. the wi lata commmmt. they are goioing for ethnicic

politics and very powerfulul subjects. but there e e othe issuess and t the traditional issues y you wiwill eect to hear. abortion, for instanan, abortion rits. she isisot goi to chanange the natu of the court onn that. she is replacing justice sour. one biissue is comining up is goininto be argued fr thhe first monday in n october. the court t queste on the last day of thehe session requested rearguments on a big issusue of campaigninance and could overthw campaign financela th want to he argumenen on ether it is constitutional to restrict cororporate pact and lalar unio on freedom of speech om givi money t to campaigns in the last 90 days. are beforeren electi. if the were to decide after that reargumentnthat thissew court,presumably, wi this new justicice, if they were to deci that corporarations a labor unions cann ge limite amounts of moneyto political campaign that blblows open the entitire -- >> itt helps??

>> well, it's b bh unions and rporations but premely it woulddelp rublicans morehan dedecrats. >> richard?? >> i'm strk by how mumu the republican linine of aack is out peripheral commements. it's a about thespeech, a conference andow much the democrats are fosing on the opinions. so if y you're going make impartiality argumumt go dodo to the opinions. we have a law versus polititics dided here between the republicanans and democrats. >> chuck s sumer is a big sponsor of the nominee. >> thohtful and judicially modest. in shortrt, judge sototomayor hs stellar credentials. thers no question about thth. jujue sotayor h h twice beforore been nonated to the b bnch and gone throrough confirirmation hearings w wh bipartisasan support. e firstime she was nomininated by a republicacan presidt. bumost important, judgege sotomar's record s saks dicial modes. somethg that our frriends on the right have beeee clamoring

r in aay that no reentnt nomimies ha is thehe judicial rord, more than seches and statements, more than personality y backgrou thatccurately meaeasures h modest a judicicial nonee will be. there several waysys of measurg mododesty in t judicial record anand judge somayor more than measurur up to each ofthem. first, as we'll hear in th next few dayays, judgeotomayor puts rule of law above everytything el. given hehe extensive d even-hded record i'mot sur how w any memb of this panel c n sisit he today and serisly suggest that she c ces to the benc with a persrsonal agenda. unke justice alitoto, you don't come tthe bench with a record number of didissent. instead, her record showows tha she is i the mainstrtream. she'sreedith republican coeagues 5% ofhe time. she hass ruledor the governmemet

in 8 of iigration cases against the immigtion aintiff. shshe has rud for the gernment in % of criminal cases. shshe has denied race clalas in 83% o of the cases. and has splili e evenly on employment casas betwe employer a and empyee. second, and this isan importantt pot because of a uniqueue experienence in th district court. jue tomayor delves thorououly intthe facts of each case. she t trustshat anndersnding of thehe fts will lead ultitely to justice. i would ask my collgues to do ththis. examine aampling, a random sampling of f rases in vavaety ofreas. in casase afte casese, she rollp her sleeves, lrns the acts, applies theawto the facts andnd comeso a a decisioionirrespectie of her inclusioio or personal experiencece. in a a case innvolvin a n york lice oicer she upheld his ght to make remarks..

inin a case brbrough by plainti claiai she had been bumped f fma plane because ofof rache dismissed ththeir case because e law required it and uphel the first right of a prisosoner to wear rligious beadsds under his uniform. in h buttoton cases such as professionalalportshe cacarefull adheres to th facts. >> we have to take a bak. we wilill be rig back. when you're on diet hungry just won qt. but you can outsmart him with weight watchers li. it's weight wawatchers, but it's completelely onlinene customizable totool give you structure tmakeealthier choices wwle resurant guides, cipes, and mobile accss give you flexibilityy live life and losse weight si unow and get two eks ee. go to weightwatctc.com/2weeksfree. hurry offer ends august 4th weighthtatcheronline. stop dieting. start livi. toto build aew generatitionf ailanes to connecthe world.

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is doing the speaking right w. so the hispanic elementf this hearing is important, but i don't want it to be lst that this is mostly aut ral and consvative potics more than it is anything else. anhaving said that, there are some of m colleagues on the other sidehat votedfor judge berts and alito knowi they

would not have chosen either one of those and i will remember that. now, unless youe aomplete meltwn, you're going to get confirmed. ani don't think you will. but, you know, the dram iseing created here is interesting and my republi colleagues who vote against you, i assure you, could vote for a hispanic nominee. e just feelunnerved by your speeches and by sme of the things you've said and some your cases. now, havin said at, i don't know what i'm ing to do yet, buto believe that you, as an vocate, with a purity ran defense legal fund, at y took somees that i would have loved to have been on the other side that your organization advocated taxper fundedrtion and said in brief tt t deny a poor black woman micate funng fo

ortion was equivalento the scott case. that is a pretty extreme thing to say but i believet was heartfelt. i wod would look at the other way to take my taxpayer dollars d pay r an abortion i sagree with is pet treme. two diffent ways to look at that. you are a prosecutor but your organization argued fo t repel othe death penalty because it was unfairly applied and to discriminate against minorities. your organition argued for i want my colleagueto iring. understand that tre can be no moreiberal group in my opinion than puerto rican defse legal fund when it cameo advocacy. what i hope is if we er get a nservative president and they minate someone who has an equal passion on te other side thate will not forget is moment that you could be the nra genel counsel and still be a good lawyer. my point is i'm not ging to hold it against yoor the organizati for advocating a

cause from which i disagree. that mes america a special place. i would have loved to ha been in those cases on the other sid and i hope tt wouldn't sgfed disqualified me. en it comes to your speeches that i the most troubling thing, to me, because that giv us an indication when you're able to get outsi the courtroom without the robe and insight toow you inkife work this wise tino comment has been talked about a lot but i it kell can tl you one thing. if i had said anythg rmotely likethat, my careerould have beenveand that is tr of most people here. and you need to understand that and i look forward to tking with youbout that comment. es that mean that i think that you're racist or you've been called some pretty b things, . i just bhers mehen somebody takes the robe off and says that thr exrience makes them betterhan someone else. i think your expernce can a

a lot tohe court but i don't think it makes you bter than anyone else. now, when i look at your cord, there's a l of trh to what senator ser said. i don't think you've tan the opportunity on the circuit to be a cause-driven juge. buwhat wre talking about here today is wh will you d when icomes to making policy. and m pretty well convinced, i know what you're going tdo. you'rerobablyoing to decide cases differently th i would. so that brings me back to what am i supposed to do knowing that? i don't think anybody he worked harder for senator mccain than i did, but we lost. and president obama won. and that ought to matter it does to me. now, what standard do i apply? i can assure you that i i applied senator obama's standard to your nomination, you -- i wouldn't vote foyou. because th standard that articulated woul make it impossible for anybody wth my

view of the law in societyo vote for seone with your acsm and ckground when it comes to low -- lawyering and judging. heaid something about the 5% of caseshat we're all driven by. he said something to tffect and in those difcult cases the critical iredient is applied by what is in jue' heart. well, i have no way of knowing what is in your heart any more than youave knowing what isn hear so that, to me, i an absurd dangers standard and maybe something od could come out of these hearin. if we stt applyingthat to nominees, it wi ruin th judiciary. i have no idea wat is in your heart any more th youhave idea wt is in my heart and i think it tak us down a very dangerous road as a country when we start doing that. now, there was a time when someone like scalia and ginsburg got 95 plus votes.

if you wereonfused about where scalia was cing down as a judge, you shouldn't be voting any more than if you were a mystery about what jue giburg was going to do in ese 5% of the cases. that is no mystery. there's some aspect to viewat i'm not sure about that gives me hope that you may not go dow the senator feingold' road when it comes to the r on terror and we'ltalk about that later on. but, generally saking, t esident has nominated someon of good aracter, someone who halived a very full and fruitful lif who is passiona from dayne from the timeou got a chanc to showcase who you ar you've stood out and you'v ood up, and you've been a strong advocate and you will speak your mind. and the one ing i'm worried about is thatf we kee doing what we're doing, we're going to deter peop from speaking the

mind. i don't wa milk toast judges. i want you to bee to speak your mind, b you got to undetand when you gave these speeches as a sitting judge that was disturbinto me. i wantawrs who believe in someing and are willing to fight for it. and i don't want the young laers of thiscountry feeling like there's certain clients they can't rpresent because when they co before the senate, it will be the end of eir career. so i donnow how i'm going to vote, but my inclination is that going to be upset wth any of my colleagues who find yore a bridge too far because, in man wawhat you've done i your legal career and the speees you've me give me great insighas to where you'l come ou on the 5% of the cases, but president obama n the election and i will respect tht.

but when he was ere, he sa in motion a standari thought that was more about seeking the presidency than beinfair to the nominee. when he said the critical ingredient is applied by what is in the judge's heart translated, that means i'm not going to vote ait my base because i'm running for esident. we got a chance to start over. i he we'll take that chce and will be asked hd questions and i think you expect that. and belief is that you will do well. becauswhether or not i agree with you o the big the of life is not important. the estion for me is he you earn the rht to be here? and if i give you this robe to put you on the supreme court, then i believe that at the end of the day that y wll do what you think is best, that you hve courage anthat you will be fair come thuray, i think i'll know more about that. good luck. >> thank you.

all right. i just note so we make sure we're all doing theame thing, mr. strada was nominated when the republicans were in charge of the senate and was not gin a hearing by the republins. he was g a hearin whe the democrats took bk the majority in the senate anthen hwas given a haring and told that's how t number of questions were submitteto him by both republicans an democrats and before i could be set for a vote on the floor, we swered thosequestions. he declined to-he may have been dtracted by an offer of a very --very high-paying law firm, but don'tknow, but h was -- he wa not given a hearing when the republica were i charge. he was given a hearing when the democrats we in charge. >> ii may, mr. chairman, nce you ght it up. >> senator sessions. >> we had seven attemptso bring him up for a final vote

d that was blocked. think i spoken his beha more than any other senator and iemember that well. and i do feel like it was a clear decision on the pa of the democratsand thebjection over release of documen, of cour, werehe inal memorandumlel memorandum that he had provided that sen former solicitor general sa it was not appropate for that part of justice toroce. so it wa -- thank you. >> he should have had the hearing when the republicans were in charge, wonts yousay? nator cardin? senator cdin will be the -- once senator cardin isfinished, weill take at-minute break >> judge sotomayor, welco to the united states senate. i think you'll findach member of this committeeand each mber of the united state senate wants to dohat is right for our countr we may differ on somef our views as wilcome out during this heari but ithink we all share respect for your. service and thank you f your willingness to sve on the

supreme courof the united states and we thank your family for the sacrifices that they have made. i am honored to represent the people of maran in the unit states senate and to serve on the jiciary committee as we conser one of our most important responsibilities whether we shoulcommend to thfu senate, the coirmation of judge sonia sotomayor to be an associate justice of the supreme court o the unitedtates. theext term of supreme court that begins in october will likely consir fundamenta issues impacthe lives of all american citizens there are many important desions decided by the supreme court by 5-4 vot each jusce can play a cital role i confirming the needest conseps in our nation' highest court. the just new justice ma have a confound impt to the court. supreme cot decisions affect each and every person in our nation. i ink of my own famils history. my grandfather ca t american more than a hundred years ago. i'm convinced that they came t

america not onlyor greater onomic oortunities, because of thedes expressed in our constitution, especily the first amendment guaranteeing religious freem. randparents wanted tei children tgrow up in a country where they were able to practice theijewish page and fully participate in tirommunity and governmt. my father-- ware taking a bre right now. a ten-minu break. annocedy the chairman a bathroom breakt this point. it's not a lunch break. th is ben cardin right there asking questions. actually he is ging a long statement. richard, thisearing right now, is it aching what looks to be a dramatic point? saw a littl if you havele the. the republicansave aer here they felt their nominees who had etic backgrounds were treated to special accord here. >> tha is going t come up again and agn. lindsey am said bring

meltdown y're going to get confirmed interestingly enough, what he came back to, a difficult subjt for thishite house. president obma's vote against john robertwhich he tried to ve both ways. heoted againstohn roberts and he h to argue with his staff because he wanted to vote for m, the staff says they wi not give you any credit if you're predent. you need to vte with the base. he went on daily coast to try to just the people who voted f roberts. he tried to have ith ys. th politics is playingut now. >> i hear lindsey graham gettg ready to te for theminee sed on the way he spoke. >> i heard him sically laying the groundwork foring able to voteor him. he said judges are not uires when justice roberts atiswn confirmation hri described dges as umpires. >> another big ns story

coming. president barack obama comes out andnnounces his nomee for a surgeon general. it dr. regina benjamin. a faly pysician from alama but he isoing to do that. we're watching rght now at the stage in the se garden where he is going make that announment in a cole of minute we'll be backto cov that live. another big story today, competing with his oth huge story is the confirmatn hearin for justice sonia tomayor. we'll be right bk with msnbc. kra tuscan house italian...

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interesting. sods like he could vote f f r.r. >> we'll see. he said he w wand d toave an open mind and talalke about the fact h he rtrtnly a didn't a agr with allff her opinions but he did say during the couoursofof r jujudialalareer she hadadn always b beecause-driven n th he had some hope for her, inhis words. and thenenhehe talked about the fa t tt as hard as he rkrked elect johnhn maiaithat in the end, barack obamama d won thata hehe h consider that and thihi was obama's nominee. ththout it was tetereing. a didiffenent tact an someofof the n senator republicacansrer tan. hehe clearly r remnd open to pporting her.r. >> chris,s, i i went back a lood atat t voteorlll ninene jujustes on thesusupre court and olyly twoo o of e current justices servingng got less tha 78 votesbyby the f fl senate a those were jujudg clarence thohs who o onl approveded 52-42 andd alitoppppved 58-42.2. all of the rest off thosesisittg on the crrent susuememe urt got

momorehaha 78 votes.. again, there wouould have tbebe something g gege fototomor not to be coconfmemebut also not t t t a very large vote couunt >> the other pieie of thiis, of coursese, ho she does,hich senator graham pointed ouout,an h hav a feelinin s she is goint be very sosod.d. and ththen also, just what kind of platform thehe republicans t to use this heariri for, to advance policy isueue i'm hoopell in their to that they're going toto bdigived. they are, obviously, goioingoo qutitioner about some o her opinions andndhehey ould do that. but t inhehe d, i'mopopul this ging to be about he her jujudial record, rr backgkgrod, her v vie of precededentndnd t cotitution andnot useded a some kinin of a aplatform. the debates onpolitical issue shld be in the chamber, n not in this hearing rrm. >> i thought t t tone, t tugh, was s stkiking byome of the republicanans, pretty tough f fo sessions, evev f fro hatch and grassley. y youre going to hehear that roughout this hehearg. but i think in thee e when you lookok ajujue sotomayor's record,,t is a record n of judicial activism b b modesty.

you look at the supportrt s h h gottenrom the fraternal orderer of lilice a gg city associations dowown e e li. yoyou see t t strong support s s s do the line o on law enforcememt.t. you go through her oninion in icich e has s sown to be very careful in h h she analalyz the facts and the applplsshe laws to the facact t theoint someoeo criticizeded h being too thorough in herfact-finding. i think you see different kiind of judge. >> hrhr? >>he committee is taking a break ow. what i is about thehe makeup o thecommittetee? i was struck by thth geography, the ncentration of membersrshi on the democratic side in miesota and wiwionsin. you've got fofo members of the cocoititte from yoyour two add jojoing g state. wh i is up? >> well,,ou know, the natati wants tt kd o american common sense than ststabitit chchri that's w wh we want. nono nsense, thhin like tht, cheeseheads.s. >> cheeseheadad right. at advice did you giveouour

w member from y yo ste, al franken,hoho just won the e certification from youour atat well, i thhin h he' doing that and that i iththate can't etetd to be a lyeyer. heasas saidn his ownn rds he is going to be the proxy f forhe pelelend ask some normal questions that r relalareople uld ask and i'm sure is getting ready for that. i hahavet t ally talked about to had i am ababouththe estions he isis aing so i'm looking forward toeaeari it. >> you have an advantage being inin t cat birdrd s sea up ther rah. any peoplele with secret pink shirts on n a anhing that could be poppingng ulalar in the dd?? n n code pinkbut that ororigalalototesr the man asking abobouthehe ununrnrn and was quicklyy e escted out. it's a packekedoom rere withll of thehe major, y yu u kn, popotical reporters hererendnd columnists as welll. then of courur, , th is one of those heaeariss wherehe sesenarsrson't leave that ofofte most are s sitngng therere itht chairs.. sometimes as you know, chriris, being a hill rat yourself

sometimes s ttllllf the senanato a are up thereutut evereryby y moh are here toy. finally, i w wil note,ee can see righttvever my shoululdeisis he niece and hwo nephews are here in susuppt ofher. yoyounamamicans who s sat very quietly thhrohh this wle morning g seioio and are gog to come back but nono standing u t stretch.h. >> i actually gogot t talk to them, rara rah. i totold those boys,oon'chew gum today.. and that also the --heher mom i so ouou uu can s s her sititti right bend the j jud and very excited d abtt thisis hearing. and her brother r wh is a doctor a awell. >> thank you, s satatorand rah. u used thterm hill rat in my regard whichch i i accept full. a ll rat is a sosomee e wh has held a numberr restigious poposiononon capitol hill. thk you very much. the committee is taking a ten-minute break. the presidedents goinin make bi news in a comomin i in theroros gaenen a annncncin his nominatin of dr. regina njnjin of alababa a wh is famamil p psici toto b the nanati's's next surg gegeral and anothther position

which requires sesena confirmation. we'll be right back withth tt t story and ththe esesidt.

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we're back look athe empty hearing room i one picture there on your screen of the senate judiciary commite which is taking a ten-minute bre come has justcommenced. thscreen to our left we're looking at the white houseose garden where the president less tn two minutes is going to come out and walk that elect turn andecternand announce his nominee for the surgeon geral which is gng to be dr. reenjamin of alabama. th white house keeps the balls in the air. here is the president back fr an incrediblydraini trip around the wld including afca and europe with russia and ghana incded and here he is arriving after a long flight back yesterday with family and his trying to compete with his own news story.

why do they do it like this? >> they have soany balls in the air. he g get a rnd of golf when he me back yesterday. is announcings african-american woman, . regina binge minute. they have to keephe montum going on heah care

ve over the last several weeks, key committees in the house andhe senate have me

important and unprecedd progress on plan that ll lower costs and provide bett care for patients, and curb the worst practices of the insur companies. it's alan that will not add to our deficit over the next decade. let me rept that. it is a plan that will not add to our deficit over the next decade. and eventually, will help lower our deficit by slowing the yrocketing costs of medicare and medicaid. even tugh we are close, i've got no ausionst's going to be get ovethe finish line. there will be more debates and more disagreemen before all is saidnd done, but heth care reform must be done. i know there are thos who believe we should waitto solve this problem or take a more incremental proach or simply do nothin but thiss the kind of criticism we heard when the cotry tried to pass medicare. a program that was now providg

quality care t nerations of american seniors. it's the kind of critici we heard en we tried to pass the children's health surance program, wch has provided quality care and coverage to millions ofkids, the sme washgton thinking that has ignored b challenges and put ftough cisions for decades. and it isrecisely that kind of small inking that has led us into the current pcament. so mako mistake, the status quo on health care is no longer an option for the united states of america. if we ep back from this challee right now, we will leave our children a legacy of debt, a fute of crushing costs that bankrupts our families, our businesses, and because we will haveone nothing to bring down the costs of medicare and medicaid, we'll crush ou government. premiums will continue to skyrocket, plang what amounts to anoth tax onamerican families struggling toy bills. e insurance companies a special interests that have kill reform the past wl

only continue t benefit e more and theyl continue to not coverage to americans wh pre-exisng medical conditions. people will continue lose health insuranceust because they lose tir job or they change jobs. this is a future that we cannot afrd. this cou can't aor to haveealth care premiums ris three tim faster than people wages, as they did over the last deca. we can't afford 1000 american long their health care every single day. we can afford a futu where our govent will eventually spend more on medicarend mecaid than what we spend on everything else. and during the campaign, i promised health care refo that would contr costs, expand coverage, and ensure choice. and i promise that amerans making $250,000 a year or lss would not y more in taxes. these a promises that wee keeping, as re moves forwar

this is no nger a probl we can wait to fix. this is about who we are as a country, heah re reform is about every family's health, bu it's also about the heah of the ecomy. so i just wantto put evebody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that was gone. we areoing to get this done. action isot an option. anfor those naysayers and nic whis think this is not going to happen, don't bet against us. we are going to make this thing happen. because the americ peopl desperately needt. and even those who aresatisfied wi their health careright now, they understand thatif premiu keep on doubling and emoyers ep on shedding health insurance becau it's unstainable, and if you look at the trajectory of where medicaid and medice are going, then inaction willcrte the biggest crisis of all. so i undstand people are a

little nervo and a itred ab making cnge. you know, t mscles in this town to bring about big changes are a little bit atroped, bu we're whipping folks back into shape. were going to get this done. and if there's anyonwho understands thurgency of meetinthis challenge in a persal and powerful way, it's the woman whoill becomeur nation's nt surgeon genera dr. reginabenjamin. and the list o qualifications that make dr. benjamian outstanding caidate to be americs leading spokesperson on is of public health are long indeed. she was in the secondclass at moorhouse school of mecine and went on t earn an m.d. from the univerty of alabama at birmingham and an mba from lane. she seed as an associate dean of rural health at the universi of south alabama colleg of medicinend in195,

she became the first physician under and the first african-erican woman toe named to t americanedical associats board of trustees. in 2002, she became presidentf alabama's sta medical associationnd she's received numeus awards and recognions, iluding the mcarthur genius award. th very impressive. but of a these achievements and experience, none haseen more pertinent totoday's challenges or close to rejgina's heart th the rural health clin that she has built and rebuil in bayou la batchtree, did i say that right te me how to say . ba la tr. it's a rural townfter about